Love Ressurected
by Sara's Earliest Works
Summary: My second Fushigi Yuugi fic, written before I had any grasp on canon whatsoever. Be afraid.


"Love Resurrected"  
by Sara Jaye 

My second Hotohori&Nuriko fanfic. This is one of those 'alternate-universe/what-if' stories: What if the summoning of Suzaku had finally worked, and Suzaku was able to bring Nuriko and Chiriko back to life? And even more so, what if Hotohori had realized his feelings for Nuriko...and what would his reaction be upon finding Nuriko in the gardens at midnight? The answer: This fic. This is a semi-multi-part...meaning it doesn't have chapters, but it does have parts, 4 counting the prologue.

Disclaimers: Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Watase Yuu. None of the characters belong to me.  
This story is a semi-angsty, semi-WAFFy yaoi fic, so if that kind of thing bothers you, you may want to close this window. Otherwise, enjoy!

-Prologue-

Eyes twitched open. A body slowly began to rise from the now-frozen snow. The formerly dead man brushed the snow off of himself, letting his eyes adjust. His braid, which he had cut off shortly before his death, grew back to its full length. A moment later, a much smaller figure approached him, looking serious.  
"Chiriko..." the violet-haired man whispered. "Is this...real? Are we..."  
"Yes, Nuriko...we are alive once more," the boy answered. Silently, they began to head back. Back to Konan.  
Their home.

-Part 1: The return-

It was a cold, quiet night. All was asleep except one man walking through the palace gardens. A very depressed man who no longer felt like he even was human anymore. Only a shell of his former self. It was as if he wasn't even alive, like he was just...there.  
He had died only 2 weeks ago, but it felt like an eternity. The memory of losing the only light in his life haunted him day after day and almost never let him sleep at night.  
"Nuriko."  
Just saying the name hurt. Nuriko, the person who'd been there for him no matter what, comforted him when the person he thought he loved chose another. His best friend...no, he was more than that.  
"I love him," Hotohori finally let himself say out loud. Despite all the time he'd spent pining for Miaka, he always had felt something for Nuriko. He just denied it-after all, he WAS the emperor of Konan and expected to produce an heir, so loving another man seemed out of the question.  
But now that he'd realized it was true, it was too late. Nuriko was gone.  
"Is this my punishment? For ignoring you so long?" Hotohori sighed. "Even if I had known and admitted this to myself, what if you didn't feel the same way? I...I just didn't know what to do...it felt so confusing..." The tears that had stopped not even an hour ago had come back, dripping down his cheeks. "Nuriko," he sobbed.  
Then something on a nearby bench caught his eye. A glint of violet...for a moment, he thought it was Houki, the woman he had been courting on and off. But then he remembered she had gone to bed an hour ago. Hotohori felt somewhat disappointed, since she was the only one he felt he could talk to about his depression. Houki had been a close friend of Nuriko's, so she understood how he felt. 'Only one other person has hair that color,' he thought. He looked at the bench to see if anyone was even there.  
There was someone there, all right.  
"...Nuriko...!" Hotohori's eyes widened. Could it be?  
"It's probably his ghost," Hotohori mused. But the figure wasn't transparent or even close. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, but his eyes were too blurred from tears.  
"I must be seeing things," he muttered, turning away from the bench.  
"No, you aren't"  
That voice!  
Hotohori turned around quickly to see the person still on the bench, in soaking wet robes, his single braid draped over his shoulder like a rope.  
"...It can't be"  
"I've missed you, Hotohori-sama."

Hotohori fainted.

Nuriko was back.

-Part 2: Reuinions-

Hotohori woke up to find himself lying on the bench. What had just happened? Was it a dream? Nuriko couldn't be here, he had just been to the burial site that day.  
"Are you okay? You're lucky you didn't hit your head," the worried voice whispered.  
"N...Nuriko."  
"Yes."  
Hotohori's vision slowly began to focus, at least enough for him to get a good look at the man kneeling beside him.  
The face was still as beautiful as he remembered. The eyes, though weary, still held the same sparkle. Somehow, the battle scars had miraculously faded away. Some minor scratches were still visible, but just barely. And his hair, though soaking wet, was as long and beautiful as it had always been.  
This wasn't a dream. The one he loved was alive.  
"But how...?" he began.  
"Days after you successfully summoned him, Suzaku brought me to life again. Chiriko's here also, he's with the others right now," Nuriko explained. "It feels so nice to be back here...I really missed you, and everyone else..." He paused. "How have they been"  
"All right, I guess. But they never got used to you not being there...you never get used to something like this," Hotohori said quietly. Just then, someone ran out into the garden.  
"Hotohori-san, what's going on?" Miaka asked. Then she saw he wasn't alone. "NURIKO!"  
"Miaka...it's great to see you again," Nuriko said before the girl threw herself into his arms.  
"I thought I'd never see you again! But when did you come back? HOW did you come back! Oh, nevermind, sure, I'm curious, but I'm just so glad you're all right!" Miaka's arms wrapped tightly around his chest as tears of joy streamed down her face.  
"Miaka?" Tamahome called as he ran out after her. "What's-" he began, then stopped in his tracks. "I saw you die. How can you be here! Unless I'm seeing ghosts...there's only one way to find out..." He slowly walked over, then gave Nuriko's braid a gentle yank.  
"Hey! What was that for?" Nuriko yelped, but just couldn't be pissed off like he normally would have been.  
"No ghost," Tamahome mused. "Good." As Miaka finally loosened her grip and pulled back, Tamahome hauled Nuriko to his feet and threw his arms around him. "Don't ever do that again? You hear me?" Nuriko nodded. After a long moment, Tamahome finally let go of him-and someone else walked into the garden.  
"Oi, Tamahome! Miaka! Hotohori! What's all the racket? It's midnight and I'm trying to get some WHAT IN SUZAKU'S NAME!" Tasuki's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Okay, either I had too much to drink and am seeing things...or that's Nuriko!" Was it, or did he just miss Nuriko so much his mind was playing tricks on him? Nuriko's death had hit him the hardest out of all the Seishi, save for Hotohori. Despite the way he and Nuriko argued, the violet-haired man was very important to him. Slowly, he walked over and placed a hand on Nuriko's shoulder...he was alive. Cold and wet, but alive.  
"Nuriko..." Nuriko looked around at the unusually meek bandit, and it was then Tasuki noticed the thick rope of hair. "Wait...didn't you"  
"It grew back," Nuriko said quietly.  
"I see..." Tasuki fell silent, then pulled the other man into a nearly bone-crushing embrace. "IF YOU EVER EVER DIE AGAIN I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! You know how much you hurt everyone when you died, you bastard! Things went to hell after you left!" he cried.  
"I'm sorry! I swear I'll never do anything like that again!" Nuriko gapsed. Miaka's death-grip was nothing compared to this! Within minutes, the other seishi, Houki, and the recently-redeemed Yui were outside.  
"See? I told you," Chiriko said, running over to Nuriko.  
"Nuriko!"  
It felt so good to be alive again! Nuriko hadn't realized how much he'd missed everyone. Hell, he hadn't even MET Yui before and she was acting as if he was an old friend!  
"Chiriko's back, Nuriko's all right, the Suzaku Seven are back!" Miaka cried. "Well, the Suzaku Eight...if we sorta count Yui-chan as an honorary Seishi."  
"Well, she's welcome to stay with us. I knew she wasn't a bad person no da, just misguided," Chichiri said.  
"Hai! I'll never let some guy get between Miaka and I again. Especially like that," Yui laughed.  
"Oh, 'some guy'? So now that you've realized what's important, I'm just 'some guy'," Tamahome joked.  
"Oh, you know what I mean!"

Hotohori broke away from the crowd, sighing. He felt so guilty and depressed, and seeing Tasuki so emotional made him uncomfortable. It almost looked like he had a thing for Nuriko.  
'After all, he was the one who actually found him dead...I just...felt it. I...I just stayed here and didn't even try and protect him. I didn't even go with them to Hokkan...this is all my fault,' he thought. 'Then again...Nuriko did promise to be okay. He promised everyone would get back in one piece...himself included! And then he gets himself killed...no, Hotohori, you ARE NOT blaming Nuriko. It just happened, it...it wasn't anyone's fault...'  
So why did he suddenly feel resentful? Well, not exactly resentful, more like...left out. Sure, he was as glad to see Nuriko as the others were, even more. But normally Nuriko would be standing by his side, maybe even hanging onto his arm. And he'd barely even hugged Hotohori since he got back...he seemed so distant.  
Was Nuriko angry with him? No, he couldn't see that so well. 'For some reason, despite my ignoring him, he always seemed to look up to me,' Hotohori thought. He considered the possibility of memory loss-could Nuriko have forgotten their friendship? No, that was impossible. He still called him 'Hotohori-sama' as he always had.  
'Why is he being this way! Why does it feel like he's not as happy to see me? If anything, I should be the one distant and angry, HE left ME! Because of his death, I spent 2 weeks crying myself to sleep. How could he do this to me!' Hotohori suddenly felt very angry. 'He's acting like he just came back from vacation and he doesn't know the half of what he's put everyone through! Me especially!' He glanced over at the others. 'Look at them. They don't even care, they're just SO HAPPY he's alive. Sure, they said "Never do that again" and all, but other than that...no big deal,' the emperor thought. Sighing, he decided he needed to talk to Nuriko. Alone. Right now.

Nuriko blinked as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a silent, nearly emotionless Hotohori looking at him. Just...looking.  
"We need to talk. Now," Hotohori whispered. Nuriko nodded slowly.  
"I'll...see you guys in the morning," Nuriko told everyone else before nervously following Hotohori into the palace. What could be wrong? Hotohori-sama almost seemed...angry at him.

-Part 3: Confrontations and Confessions-

"I HATE YOU!"  
"...Hotohori-sama"  
The other man didn't answer, only raised his hand, one second later bringing it across Nuriko's cheek in a sickening slap.  
"I HATE YOU, NURIKO!"  
Nuriko cried out in shock, slowly raising his fingertips to his injured cheek. Unable to say anything, he stared at the emperor, then lowered his eyes.  
'He hit me...why? What have I done wrong?'  
"H...H-Hotohori-s-a-ama..." he managed to choke as hot, salty tears forced their way down his cheeks. "Wh...why?" He'd been so happy to see him before...why was he so angry all of a sudden?  
Hotohori grabbed the violet-haired seishi's shoulders, turning him around, then lifted his chin, forcing Nuriko to meet his gaze. Hotohori's own eyes were completely emotionless as they stared straight into Nuriko's. It took every bit of his strength to keep from breaking down.  
"You died.."  
"...What?"  
"You died. You left us...you left me, Nuriko!"  
"I-"  
Nuriko was sure he wasn't hearing this. Hotohori-sama was angry at him because he had died? 'I can understand that, I guess.  
but I'm back with them now, and that's what matters...right?'  
"You don't know how much it hurt to be without you, Nuriko. It was painful as hell! Just knowing that you weren't there anymore. It wasn't the same without you, without your smile to brighten my day-no, my life!" Hotohori was trembling now, his wall of anger on the verge of collapsing.  
"H...Hotohori-sama-"  
Nuriko could not believe he was hearing this. Since when had he meant this much to Hotohori? The young emperor only loved Miaka, after all, and Nuriko was no more than one of his harem, a friend at the most. Was he dreaming? No, the pain from the slap only minutes ago was still there.  
"You...hate me...because I...I died, Hotohori-sama."  
"Yes...but I don't really hate you, Nuriko."  
"N...Nani?" Nuriko's eyes remained transfixed on the other man's. He had just slapped him across the face and right out said he hated him! Nuriko blinked back another stream of tears, looking up sadly at Hotohori.  
"But you said-"  
Seeing the tears running down Nuriko's face, Hotohori felt terrible for his actions.  
"I was angry! I didn't mean it, in fact I meant the complete opposite!" Hotohori embraced the smaller man tightly all of a sudden, holding him as if he would never let go.  
"Nuriko..."  
"H...Hotohori-sama?"  
Hotohori looked deeply into Nuriko's liquid hazel eyes.  
"I...I love you."

Nuriko fainted.

When he opened his eyes a few minutes later, he realized he was still in the emperor's arms...on the bed.  
"Wh...what happened...?" he asked, somewhat weakly.  
"You really are shocked..." Hotohori whispered. "Guess I can't blame you..."  
"...You...love me?"  
"Yes...I-I didn't even realize it until...until that day," Hotohori said, his eyes tearing a little. Nuriko blinked a couple times, trying to clear his blurry vision. "But...Nuriko thought...Hotohori-sama only loved Miaka..." he said.  
"I did...but she was destined for Tamahome. I knew I couldn't continue to yearn for her," he said, blinking back tears. "I-I'm so sorry"  
"Don't apologize...you couldn't help how you felt, Hotohori-sama...you loved her...you didn't even know how I felt..."  
Now it was Hotohori's turn to blink. "How you felt?"  
Nuriko blushed. "You...couldn't tell? I thought I'd been making it sort of obvious the whole time," he mumbled, tears gathering in his eyes. "And you never seemed to notice me anyway. I could be standing right next to you and you would forget that I was there even if we were alone...to be honest, I-I..thought you didn't even care and would hate me if I ever said anything," he said, his voice breaking on the last few words as tears trickled down his face. Hotohori inwardly cursed himself for being so dense. He'd been causing Nuriko so much pain and he didn't even know it. And all this time he was worried Nuriko might not feel the same way. He would have accepted if Hotohori had told him in the first place.  
'Baka!' he thought. Sighing heavily, the emperor held the smaller seishi closer. "Don't cry, Nuriko...I-I'm sorry I hurt you so much...I was an idiot..." He smiled as he felt Nuriko snuggle into his embrace. 'I can't believe how he feels in my arms...never thought it would feel so wonderful to hold him', Hotohori thought.  
'I can't believe I'm actually in his arms...it feels even better than in my dreams...so warm, so safe...knowing he does care about me,' Nuriko thought, his tears coming to a stop. "Hotohori-sama..." he breathed.  
"Nuriko...can you ever forgive me?" Hotohori asked. Nuriko tilted his head up and placed his hand on the taller man's cheek.  
"Of course. I could never be angry with you, Hotohori-sama. I'll always love you even if you had continued to ignore me," he whispered. "But I'm glad you care." Hotohori smiled.  
"I wish I'd realized it sooner, Nuriko. I shouldn't have spent so much time wishing for Miaka. Not when you were always here," he said.  
"I guess I always figured you would notice me sooner or later," Nuriko said. He paused for a moment, then looked at the other man, almost quizzically. "So...you really love me, or was it just the sudden emotions?" he asked, half-teasing. Hotohori pretended to seem annoyed, then pressed his lips to Nuriko's.  
Nuriko's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that! His heart soaring, he kissed the emperor back, running his fingers into his soft, long hair.  
After a very long moment, they broke contact, just staring into each other's eyes. Then Nuriko spoke.  
"I'll take that as a yes," he said almost breathlessly. Hotohori laughed.  
"Good. Because if not, I wouldn't be able to do more than just kiss you," he said, a gleam in his eye. Nuriko blinked, then realized what that meant.  
"Hotohori-sama!" he gapsed, blushing madly.  
"What?" Hotohori smirked, gently brushing Nuriko's braid over to one side and planting a kiss on his neck. Nuriko felt himself melt into Hotohori's arms. After all this time, his dream had come true. One thing still worried him, though.  
"Hotohori-sama...what about...your being expected to marry a woman and provide an heir?" he asked. "And what about Houki?" Hotohori laid a finger on Nuriko's lips, then kissed his forehead.  
"We'll worry about that later. And Houki will understand. But to be safe, we will talk to her tomorrow," he said reassuringly. Nuriko sighed.  
"I hope so," he murmured, slipping the tie off the end of his braid, his hair cascading over his shoulders like a wave of silk. Then Hotohori remembered something.  
"Nuriko?"  
"Yes?"  
"I...feel sort of strange asking this, but...what about Tasuki?" Nuriko blinked.  
"What about him?"  
"Well, I...I got the impression he...likes you. He just.seemed to be looking at you in that way...the way I..."  
"Used to look at Miaka?" They laughed a little.  
"Well, I don't know what he feels for me. But I only love you," Nuriko smirked.  
"I know...I guess after all we've been through, and now that you're mine...the old possessiveness thing's kicking in. You know, where guys get paranoid over anyone so much as looking at their girlfriends...or in this case, boyfriends," Hotohori said, holding his seishi close.  
"Yeah, I know...I am flattered that you feel so possessive, though," Nuriko giggled. "I love you so much, Hotohori-sama"  
"I love you too, Nuriko..." Hotohori sighed. "We should get to sleep, though. It's pretty late." Nuriko nodded, yawning a little.  
"Yeah..." But neither one of them made any move to get up.  
"Stay with me tonight?" Nuriko closed his eyes a little. 'He looks so cute with his eyes half-closed like that,' Hotohori thought.  
"Of course," Nuriko said sleepily. Hotohori gently set Nuriko down in the unmade bed for a moment, slipped in and pulled the covers over them, then pulled the smaller man back into his arms.  
"It feels much warmer with you here," he whispered.  
"I know what you mean," Nuriko said, snuggling closer to his lover and leaning up to kiss his lips briefly.  
"Goodnight, Nuriko. Aishiteru," Hotohori murmured before his eyes closed.  
"Night, Hotohori-sama...wo ai ni..." Nuriko whispered.  
For the first time in weeks, the young emperor slept peacefully. And for the first time in years, both he and his seishi felt warm and complete, loneliness gone as though it never existed.

End

That was a LOT longer than I originally planned. ; It's done, though, and I'm quite proud of it. I got pretty sappy again, but...well, some things you just can't help. :P Till next time!


End file.
